Homeward bound: of medics and gladiators
by siri pax
Summary: A young medic-in-training is captured and rescued by a gladiator in kaon who is unlike any other.Will the medic melt the ice in the gladiator's cold spark and give her something to fight for again or will she die trying?rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi. This is my first fanfic so pls review. Hope I could improve it.**

HOMEWARD BOUND: OF MEDICS AND GLADIATORS

(Red Alert's POV)

Red Alert was tired. She had a hectic, long day at the medical bay. Ratchet, her mentor, had been very fed up as well. The numerous medics at the medbay had been completely tired out as well. None of them had worked harder than they had worked today. Red Alert trudged home with slow, heavy steps. The femme medic-in-training was trying her best not to nod off while walking. She decided to take a shortcut through the market. It was dangerous, especially at night. _Especially_ for femmes. Not that she cared. She was set on getting to her housing unit as fast as possible.

As she walked, she realized that the market, while bustling with life and activity during the day was an equivalent to a graveyard at night. She never noticed the figures that were stalking her.

She spun on her pedes suddenly. She felt like she was being watched. Slowly she turned back around and continued her journey home. Out of the blue, she heard a noise, like something was moving around. It was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

(Someone's POV)

She hit the ground, immediately after I injected the sedative. By Primus, that thing is strong! I called my partner to me. He approached with a wide grin on his face.

"Well, well, well, what have we got ourselves tonight? She sure is pretty this one!" he said with a sadistic smirk.

"Well she won't be ours if you're gonna stand around here all night!" I retorted. "Help me with her will ya?" I took hold of her upper body while took hold of her legs. We were about to put her in the transport when she shifted in our hold. We froze. However, she did not wake from her slumber. We vented quietly in relief. Slowly, so we did not wake her, we lifted her into the transport. Then, we took off as fast as possible.

After a few hours, we reached our destination. My partner and I gently lifted the femme's body out of the transport. Suddenly, she shifted in our hold. We froze again. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around. Then, she spotted us.

(Red Alert's POV)

My processor ceased to work when I saw those two mechs. I jumped out of their arms and struggled to regain my balance. Maybe I should have listened when I was advised against walking through the market at night. Just when I thought I could have escaped them by running, they were in front of me, wearing identical sadistic grins on their ugly faceplates. They had blocked off any of my escape exits, leaving me trapped, but not helpless. I was thankful that I had brought along a laser scalpel in of my compartments in my arms. The scalpel was a surgical tool, but could also be used as a weapon and it could be deadly if put in the right places.

Suddenly, one of the mechs chuckled. My helm snapped towards his direction. That was a big mistake. It could possibly be my last. The other mech lunged towards me ready to take his prize. I certainly did not expect him to go flying away from me with a huge wound in his side. I was about to thank my rescuer when the other mech went flying as well. He however, was sporting a stab wound from a sword. Slowly I turned my helm towards my "rescuer". I was rooted to the spot. My "rescuer" was not a mech like I had expected, but rather, a femme. A femme _gladiator _to be precise. I recognized the symbol of the gladiatorial arena hanging from a chain around her neck. She, however did not seem to realize I was in front of her. She was cleaning her sword with a cloth and was muttering under her breath. She looked nothing short of intimidating. She wore heavy armour painted black with blood red flames. She had two energon swords hanging from her belt, energon daggers strapped to her arms and spiked knuckles. To top it all off, her electric green optics seemed to pierce my very spark. I had never been more terrified in my entire life. Two goons were babies in comparison to a gladiator. The fact that she looked like seasoned gladiator wasn't helping in the slightest bit. In fact, it just made the situation worse. I weighed my options. I could either try to slip away unnoticed and risk _becoming_ noticed or I could follow my heart and thank her and hope she didn't act like one of the barbaric gladiators and try to murder me on the spot. I took into account that she was a femme so hopefully, she might be merciful and let me live. I braced myself for the worst.

"T… th… thank you"

(Sparkimus POV)

"T… th… thank you"

My helm snapped up and my body tensed, preparing for an attack. Instead, l found what was probably the reason of those goons' appearance. A femme, with a frame that showed all the right curves. Her armour was red and white with…a medic's symbol on her right shoulder. A femme medic.

"More like a medic in training," l thought, "she is too young to be fully trained." She seemed absolutely terrified. Well, who wouldn't be? She was nearly captured and sold, as a slave, most likely. I admired her courage, however. She had not screamed or panicked even once. She had gotten into a fighting stance, unconsciously, most probably. She also seemed like she was going to take something out to defend herself. She had potential as a gladiator. She still seemed terrified. Of what, I was not sure but –wait. Was she staring at me? At my weapons? Seriously? Oh Primus! I know I can be intimidating but I have morals! I have honour! This is ridiculous! Then again, she lives in the city and given what she has heard about gladiators, joining in the uprisings against the Prime. I was not surprised she was afraid of me. I supposed I would just have to tell her that…wait. Is that… the symbol of the Elite Guard? I was stunned. What was a member of the Elite Guard doing here in Kaon. They should all be in Iacon. That was very far away. Iacon was where the rich, educated people lived while Kaon, well, it was the city that held the gladiatorial arenas, slave traders and also had more slums than in any other place on our planet. It was a complete opposite to Iacon.

"Oh well," I thought to myself, "I will just bring her back to my quarters and get her to catch some rest for the night. After all, I do have a free day tomorrow. She can tell me her story in the morning." Then, I realised I would have to convince her I was not a barbaric killer. This was going to be tough.

(Red Alert's POV)

I froze not daring to move when she snapped her helm towards me. Our gazes locked. She looked me over several times, her green eyes seemed to look right into my spark. I hope she was not going to capture me as well. To my utmost confusion, her expression changed to being exasperated instead of the one of scrutiny she had worn before. Then, her expression changed to one of utmost surprise. After looking at each other for a little longer, she grimaced, took a step towards me and started speaking.

"I'm Sparkimus. I'm a gladiator, though I think you have already guessed that." Her voice was gruff. It sounded a lot like the commanders that came to the med bay for repairs. To Red Alert's surprise, she found that for the first time since their meeting, she felt power and authority radiating for Sparkimus' frame. The way she stood made her look like the generals at the Iaconian base. For the first time tonight, Red Alert felt safe. She felt she could trust Sparkimus. That was rare. She only gave her trust to those who she knew would not abuse it and to those who earned it. That could take a very long time. It could take weeks, maybe years. But, Red Alert knew, she _just knew_ that she could trust Sparkimus. She knew that she could trust this gladiator _with her life_. Little did they know that she was going to have to do just that very soon.

(Red Alert's POV)

"So…uh, what's your name, medbot?" Sparkimus asked. I jumped at the sound of her voice it. "I…I'm Red Alert," I answered timidly. Sparkimus gave an exasperated sigh. "Look, you have absolutely no reason to be afraid at me. _At all_. I know may be a gladiator, and therefore a little hard to trust, but you have absolutely no reason fear me. I have honor. I will never hurt an innocent bot especially a medic. Especially a _femme _medic." My spark probably stopped for a few seconds. I could not believe my audios. She wasn't going to hurt me! I get to live!

"Thank you!" I practically screamed." Thank you thank you thank you thank you-"

"SHUT UP!"

My jaw clamped shut and my vocalizer was turned off immediately. NOW I'd done it. I'd gone and made her angry. She was probably going to kill me now. Instead, she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. I have _very_ sensitive audios. I didn't exactly think you'd have heard me if I had spoken to you normally and my usual solution for this type of thing is just to punch the person making the racket so the only way I figured would be effective is shouting." I felt horrible. I turned my vocalizer on again.

"Nonono its not your fault. It was stupid of me to shout so loudly. Its just… I expected you to kill me and you said you wouldn't and-well, I think you get the point. And I'm also, sorry for babbling. It's a habit I have when I'm nervous…" I said nervously. Sparkimus chuckled.

"No problem. Just… keep your voice down. Don't wanna attract anymore slave traders," she said. I nodded my helm in agreement.

"OK. I need you to trust me. I need you to come back to my quarters with me. If you stay out here alone, you'll probably get captured by another slave trader. So just trust me alright? I'm not gonna hurt you. I swear on my honour as a gladiator. I'm not asking you to trust me with your life. Just…your safety." Red Alert seemed surprised and also a little uncertain. "How do I know that I can trust you? I barely know you and you even said it. You're gladiator." she said, shakily. "Have I given you any reason not to trust me? And even if I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would have done it already?" I replied, calmly. I had something a lot of gladiator did not have. Patience. It is a virtue and also a weapon and I would wait until Red Alert was confident that no harm would come to her. "So… you promise you won't hurt me?" she asked again uncertainly, but now, she seemed to be a bit more confident. "I swear on my spark that no harm will come to you Red Alert." I said. She stood a little straighter her posture showing a little more confidence. "So then… can you bring me back to my housing unit? Its not very far-"

"Sweetspark, I don't know if you have noticed this, but you're in Kaon." I said gently. Red Alert froze. She looked around wildly trying to place where she actually was. I didn't see her expression as her back was turned to me but I can only guess how she felt. I walked up behind her and gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you ok?" I asked as gently as possible. "How? How did I end up in Kaon? I…" she whipped around, taking me by surprise. Realization dawned on her faceplates. "Those mechs! They must have brought me here! I-I have to go back! My sire he'll-" I put my servo on her mouth, silencing her. "Calm down Red Alert. We will go bring you back home safely. Right now, we have to focus on getting to my quarters. We'll catch some recharge, then you can tell me your story in the morning. Alright?" I asked. She nodded. "Ok. Come on. My quarters aren't far from here." I said. I removed my hand from her mouth and put my around her shoulders and steered her in the direction of my quarters.

(Sparkimus POV)

After a couple of cycles, we reached the place where the gladiators stayed. Red Alert had become very sleepy. I was half-afraid she would fall into recharge while walking.

"How much longer?" she asked sleepily. I stole a glance at her. "We're already here. Just a little farther to my quarters." I answered. She nodded sleepily in acknowledgement. I led her down the steps to the underground gladiators' quarters and down a corridor lined with doors. After a while I came to a halt. "1, 2, 3…yup. This is it. Its not exactly cozy or spacious but it'll do." I told the red and white femme. However, I didn't get a response. I turned around. "Red Alert? Are you…oh…" My optics were blessed with the gloriously sight of…Red Alert slumped against a wall, sleeping soundly. I sighed. I moved forward and gently picked up Red Alert. She shifted in my hold and cuddled up against me, putting her head against my chestplates and listening to the steady beat of my large spark. Shaking my head, I walked to the door of my quarters and typed in the access code.

"Primus, I must be getting soft!" I thought to myself. Nonsense! I can't be getting soft! I am Sparkimus! The most feared and respected gladiator in the universe! OK…I think I might be overdoing it. Maybe I am not the most feared gladiator in the universe, but I am definitely the gladiator with the most interesting past. A lot of mechs and femmes do not know of my true origins but, they do know that I once lived free. Far away from the bonds of slavery.

"Well, that is what used to happen. Not like I'm going to get out of the pile of rusting scrap metal anytime soon." I thought bitterly as I made my way to my berth. I set down my sleeping cargo gently, so I did not wake her. I stared at Red Alert's recharging form for a while. Then I made my way to a hidden cabinet in the wall. I took out a blanket and looked it over. It was a large, dark purple, thermal blanket. It would so just fine. I gently tucked it around Red Alert, making sure that she was comfortable before stepping back, to see my handiwork. Nodding in satisfaction, I walked over to my couch on the other side of the room and unfolded my wings from a compartment in my back. I sighed in relief and stretched them thoroughly before folding them back into the compartment and brought out my door wings. I stretched those thoroughly as well but, I climbed onto the couch, leaving them out and settling on my stomach. I stretched again before rolling onto my side and shuttering my optics. Then I succumbed to temptation of the recharge that I had fought off during the night's events and let the darkness claim me.

**And thats it for the 1st chapter! I was wondering if I should put a ratchet/sparkimus pairing. And u'll b finding out more about Sparkimus' past in the next chapter i think.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Red Alert's POV)

I woke up from a restful recharge. My systems booted up slowly, messages flashing across my processor. I felt extremely comfortable on my berth. I was covered by a soft material that was tucked around my body. Groggily, I onlined my optics and was met with the sight of a…purple blanket? I definitely did NOT have purple blankets. I looked around the room. This definitely was not my room. Slowly, I sat up and scanned the room while thoughts ran across my processor. What had happened last night? My optics landed on a winged figure that was curled up on a couch on the opposite side of the room. It looked strangely familiar… I spotted red flames on the figure. Oh… now I remember! It was all coming back to me. Thugs, gladiator, gladiator's quarters… nothing else. I must have slipped into recharge during the journey to…what was her name? Sparki…Sparkimus! That's it. Sparkimus' quarters. So, this was her quarters? It was quite spacious. Felt… cozy. Strange. Sparkimus' quarters were sort of squareish or maybe rectangular. Well, it had four walls. The berth was on the far left-hand side of the quarters, tucked into a corner, making a cozy effect. There was a small table right next to the berth. Beside the table, there was a cabinet. Not so tall, but higher than the berth, so, anyone who came into the room could not see who was on the berth unless they walked right up to it. Directly opposite the berth, there was a couch, on which Sparkimus was curled up on. There was a low table in front of the couch and on the wall to the right, there was a desk… piled with datapads. I wondered what those were for. There was also a laptop on the desk… wonder what that is for. Over all, it was quite… cozy, for a gladiator's quarters. I expected it to be more… gruesome. I walked up to her desk and looked at the objects on it. A terminal, the datapads and… a holopicture? I reached out to pick it up.

"I see you have acquainted yourself with my quarters," came a voice from the couch. I jumped and whirled around, my faceplates heating up in embarrassment. Sparkimus lay on the couch lazily, regarding me calmly.

"I…I have…uh…yes, I have," I stuttered. A ghost of a smile passed over her faceplates. "Mhm," she said, nodding her head. She sat up on the couch and stretched. That was when I saw them.

"How did you get those?" I asked suspiciously. Sparkimus raised an optic ridge. I frowned. "Don't play dumb with me. I know that you did NOT have door wings last night. I didn't see them and I want to know how you have them now," I snapped.

Sparkimus sighed in defeat. "Ok, so I owe you an explanation. I have door wings and seeker's wings, both of which are stored in a compartment in my back. I don't show other gladiators that I have wings because that would make me weak. My wings would be targeted and I would not be able to fight properly if they are damaged, so I hide them from everybot else. The only time I bring them out is in my quarters, so don't go telling everybot about them ok?" she said. I nodded. "Good. Now stay here. I'm going to get energon for us. Don't touch anything. Especially the picture." She said. I blushed a little. I nodded again. "If you are bored, you can read the datapads. I think you'll find them interesting."

"Alright, thank you," I replied. Sparkimus' doorwings folded themselves into the compartment in her back. Then, she opened the door to her quarters and looked around,then she stepped outside and locked the door. I scrutinized the datapads. Did I really want to know about the contents of the datapads? I picked one up. Whatever it was, it couldn't be that interesting. I turned on the pad and took a look at it.

It was…

(Sparkimus POV)

I walked down the corridor, searching for the energon dispenser. I will never understand why I knew this place like the back of my servo but I could never seem to find the primus fragging energon dispenser. I went down a few more corridors before giving up and going to the mess hall. The moment I opened the door, I was a doused… with pink paint. Correction. I was doused in hot pink paint. Everyone fell silent. For the first time in my gladiator life, I had fallen victim to a prank pulled off by one of the newbies, probably. I wondered who was the mech or femme did this. Everyone knew I was very protective and proud of my paintjob. Primus, this was a serious blow to my ego. I crossed my arms and put on my 'no nonsense' face.

"Alright, which mech thought that is was a good idea to change my paint job to hot pink?" I asked, frowning at everybot in the rec room. No one spoke. I knew they were afraid of me, but if I stood here long enough, the culprit would crack. However, from what I'd seen, that usually involved standing in the doorway for at least five to ten clicks and putting on a 'if-you-don't-reveal-yourself-and-I-find-out you-did-it-I-will-crush-you-for-humiliating-me' face. Unfortunately, I did not have that kind of time. I needed to make sure that Red Alert stayed in my quarters which would be very unlikely especially because she was staying with a gladiator, even If she trusted me. No one had spoken yet, so I decided to let them have a taste of my anger. I opened my mouth to speak.

"I did it,' came a voice from across the room. "I was the one who played the prank." A young mech was standing across the room with a guilty expression on his face and- wait… was that defiance on those faceplates? I narrowed my optics at him. "What is your name mech?" I asked him firmly. He replied immediately "Blade ma'am" Hmm, interesting name. Wonder if he lives up to it. "Well then, Blade, was this prank intentional or was it a dare?" I asked him. I had learned that not all pranks were intentional. Sometimes the mechs or femmes dared each other to prank the older, more seasoned gladiators as a test of bravery. Of course, it usually ended up with a trip to the medbay and the medic giving the culprits a dreadfully boring lecture. However, I knew that even the most feared gladiators on the arena would not dare to play a prank such as this one on me in fear of their lives. I ruled out the first response. It simply was not possible.

"It was intentional ma'am." Gasps were heard all over the rec room Oooookayyyy… I guess I should have seen that coming. "So you played a prank on me intentionally even though you were fully aware of the consequences, is that it?" I asked. "No ma'am. The prank was intentional, but it was not intended for you." Blade said respectfully. Oh. "I see. Well then, since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you off this time." I said lightly. I walked over to the energon dispenser and filled two cubes, then, I walked back to the door. "As you were" I called over my shoulder. The noise in the rec room rose to its normal level; loud. I shook my head as I walked away. I'll have to get this paint cleaned off, but first things first. I walked back to my quarters and stopped outside the door. Then, I realized that both my servos were full. Damn it Sparkimus! What the pit is wrong with you? I looked around to make sure that no one was looking. Security cameras were not a problem; there were none. Then, I lifted my tail, its blade scraping against its sheath. I quickly punched in the passcode and the door slid open, my tail blade sheathing itself and my tail changing colour to camouflage against my body. I was not expecting to see what I saw. Red Alert was sprawled on the bed on her stomach, legs in the air and faceplates impossibly close to a datapad. Speaking of datapads, there was a whole pile of them on the floor. Actually all of them were in a messy heap. I mentally groaned. I'd sorted them out just yesterday! Holding in a sigh, I moved to the desk and placed the cubes on it. Red Alert still had her optics glued to the datapad. She was so absorbed in her reading that my entry went unnoticed. I decided to make my presence known.

"I didn't take you for a book worm."

(Red Alert's POV)

"I didn't take you for a book worm."

I shot up immediately, throwing the datapad at the voice a launching myself backwards. My back slammed against the wall and I groaned in pain. I heard a sigh. "And here I thought that you would have grown used to my presence," said a rough voice. Sparkimus. I let the back of my helm smack against the wall. "Do you really have to give me a spark attack every time you make an appearance?" I asked tiredly. "Not my fault you were so obsessed with the datapad." She set something down on the table, most probably, the datapad. "Maybe my appearance will cheer you up," she said. "Oh really?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yes," she replied, "Really." I vented deeply. I sat up and took a good long look at Sparkimus. Then, I laughed. Hard. Sparkimus was covered in hot pink paint. At first I thought that she had changed her paint job, but when I noticed that the paint was dripping onto the floor, I laughed even harder. "You got pranked?" I wheezed. Sparkimus was not amused. "Yes." She said flatly. I laughed even harder at that. Never had I thought that I would see a gladiator with a pink paint job. "Yes, yes" she said waving me off. Then, I got serious. "While I enjoyed reading your datapads, I would like to know where you got them from." I said with a firm look. Sparkimus' green optics flicked to the datapads and back to my face.

She averted her gaze. "The library," she replied. I narrowed my optics. "You're lying," I said. Sparkimus immediately straightened up. I had to hand it to her. Even when she was covered in hot pink paint, she could still look intimidating. Very intimidating. However, I did not back down. I was not going to. If she had done what I think she had, then I was going to pull a Ratchet on her and run out of here whether she liked it or not. She narrowed her optics at me and me a hard look. I stared right back stubbornly. I would not be intimidated. Not this time. whe However, could tell that she was lying. She seemed extremely tense, like she was hiding something. "Why should I tell you?" she retorted, narrowing her eyes.

"Because, if you don't tell me I'll run out of here whether you like it or not and you're not gonna stop me," I said. Ha! That should do it. Sparkimus' reaction was not what I had expected. She smirked. "Even if you do manage to get out of my quarters, you might not get out of this hellhole. There are gladiators who are not as nice as I am and trust me when I say this, if they're feeling horny, they'll take you and use you, and you won't get to fight back because they are a hell lot stronger than you are," she said, her optics brightening with every word. Then they gradually dimmed.I slumped down on the berth, defeated. She let out a deep sigh and turned around. "And I'm not gonna let that happen."

My optics widened. The words were said so softly that I nearly missed them. I couldn't believe my audios. How could a gladiator like her care about a medic-in-training like me? "Grab a cube and fuel up. We've got a long day ahead of us." She said over her shoulder. She walked to a door and pulled it open gently. Then, stepped in and locked it. I sighed and walked up to her desk, picking up a cube or energon, I slowly sipped it as I made my way back to the berth. I swiped another datapad off the floor and started reading it. It was completely silent in Sparkimus' quarters, except for the sound of water running down a body. Probably, Sparkimus'. So, that door led to her washracks. I was wondering why Sparkimus was so tense when I mentioned the datapads. I still hadn't got an answer out of her. Maybe when she came out of the washrack, she'd tell me why. And maybe I'd be able to get her to tell me a bit about her past without angering her. I'd seen several deep scratches in her back when she'd headed off to wash off the paint. Then, I'd realized that she had left a trail of hot pink paint behind. I snickered at the memory of her covered in paint. That had certainly made my day. I decided to clean up the mess she had made… and the mess I'd made. It was a wonder that she hadn't screamed at me for just chucking all the datapads on the floor. I found some cleaning supplies in the cabinet beside her berth. After rearranging all the datapads on her desk cleaning up the remnants of the paint, I finished up my energon and lay back on her bed. The sound of running water had stopped now. I wondered what Sparkimus' story was. I was rather certain gladiators weren't allowed to have sparklings, so that ruled out the possibility that Sparkimus was born into slavery. For some reason, I felt that I had seen her before, somewhere on base. I pondered over the thought for a few clicks, then banished it from my processor. I decided to ask Sparkimus about her life. After she came out of the shower that is.


End file.
